Surgical scrub brush and cleaner apparatus

ABSTRACT

A scrub brush-sponge includes a base provided with a recessed peripheral lip, which has a plurality of attenuated regions configured to minimize the resistance of the base to external bending forces, and a sponge coupled to the base and made from polymeric material, which may have as low a PPI as 10. The sponge is configured so that it can effectively surround at least a substantial peripheral portion of instruments or portions to be treated with fluid, which is contained within the sponge, without applying substantial external forces to the base.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to scrub sponges, and particularly,relates to scrub brush-sponges associated with a variety of medicalprocedures and adaptable for treating medical instruments.

2. Description of the Related Art

Numerous brush structures are known in the art. Some of these structuresare functionally effective as well as convenient in use or ergonomic.While a minor amount of brush modification continues, surprisingly,scrub brushes used by medical professionals have not been substantiallymodified for quite some time. Structurally, a typical scrub brush has abase coupled to a rectangular sponge, which is saturated withantiseptic, germicide and/or soapy fluid and has a generally rectangularcross-sectional shape.

In the medical field, many scrub brush-sponges have a great variety ofadaptations. Besides traditional functions, such as cleaning the handsof the professional, removing blood and treating wounds, the brushesalso may be used for cleaning a variety of medical instruments,particularly those instruments that need to be sterilized or, at least,cleaned repeatedly during a surgical procedure.

While such rectangular sponges may effectively clean flat surfaces, theymay be less effective while treating annular surfaces, which are rathertypical for a great variety of medical instruments. Particularly, manyof the medical instruments, which are used for invasive procedures suchas colonoscopy or other diagnostic procedures, to name a few, havesubstantially circular bodies. Customarily, surgical medical instrumentsundergo thorough sterilization before the beginning of the medicalprocedure. However, as mentioned above, many instruments can be reusedduring the same medical procedure and, thus, have to be repeatedlycleaned before each subsequent use.

Since the base of the typical brush may not be sufficiently flexible,the user has to apply excessive bending forces to flex the base so thatthe sponge would surround the annular body of the medical instrument.Otherwise, without flexing the base, a typical rectangular sponge mayclean only a segment of the entire annular body, which leads to atime-ineffective cleaning process in a situation often requiring theinstantaneous availability of any given instrument.

Assuming that the user does not experience any difficulty in flexing thescrub brush-sponge for cleaning medical instruments, the scrub still mayremain inefficient, because the surface of the sponge is typicallysmooth. The smoothness, at least partially, depends on the number ofpores per inch (PPI). The higher the PPI the smoother the surface. Andwhile a typical smooth surface is perhaps pleasant for cleaning theuser's hands, it may be ineffective for cleaning the metallic or othersurfaces of medical instruments.

A need, therefore, exists for a scrub brush-sponge configured with anergonomic structure that enables the user to clean medical instrumentsin a time-effective manner

Still a further need exists for a scrub brush-sponge having a structurethat can be sufficiently flexible to enable the user to effectivelyclean medical instruments in a relatively effortless maimer.

Another need exists for a scrub brush-sponge configured with a spongethat is characterized by as relatively low PPI for effectively scrubbingthe surface of numerous medical instruments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a scrub brush-sponge that satisfiesat least one of these needs. The inventive brush includes a base madefrom flexible material and a sponge coupled to the body and saturatedwith a selected fluid. When during an invasive procedure, theprofessional performing the procedure needs to reuse a previously usedmedical instrument, he or she may sterilize or clean this instrumentwith the inventive brush. Since many of the medical instruments have asubstantially annular shape, the sponge of the inventive scrub isprovided with a channel, which is shaped so that when the professionalplaces the instrument within the channel, the inner surface of thesponge surrounds at least a portion of instrument's body.

Upon applying an insignificant or minor amount of manipulative force tothe base of the inventive brush-sponge, the professional is then able tobring opposing sidewalls of the sponge towards one another and,depending on the outer dimensions of the instrument, practicallysurround the entire periphery of the instrument's body by the sponge.Finally, displacing the brush-sponge and instrument relative to oneanother, the professional can treat the surface of the instrument in atime-effective and efficient manner.

As is known, the sponge may be used for numerous purposes including, forexample, cleaning the hands of the professional, treating cuts andwounds and, as discussed above, sterilizing instruments. Depending onthe particular application, the surface of the sponge may be relativelysmooth, which is particularly important while treating the patient'sopen wounds, or relatively rough, which may be advantageous for cleaningthe instruments.

Accordingly, one criterion as the number of pores per inch (PPI) plays aparticularly important role for choosing the sponge for a particularpurpose. Increasing the PPI leads to a relatively smoother surface,while decreasing the PPI makes the surface of the sponge relatively moreabrasive. In accordance with one of the inventive aspects, the PPI canbe as low (at the extreme) as about 10 and as high as about 200 poresper inch. Setting the PPI is a selective compromise depending upon avariety of factors proposed in this invention.

In addition to the smoothness of the surface, a relatively high PPIimproves the capacity of the sponges to distribute treating fluidnumerous times (meaning the high PPI sponge retains a lot of fluid andproduces suds easily), but a high PPI also reduces the volume of thedelivered fluid. In contrast, sponges with a relatively low PPI, forexample a PPI from 10 to 60, delivers a greater volume of liquid-fluidat once, but thereafter becomes dry rather quickly. In other words, thelow PPI sponge suds easily but also releases a higher volume ofwashing/cleaning/sterilizing fluid to carry away released debris.

As mentioned above, the professional, of course, has to apply someamount of manipulative force to the base of the inventive brush in orderto surround (bend) a portion of the brush or sponge about a portion ofthe instrument's body as the dimensions of the sponge's channel or brushchannel would allow.

To facilitate bending of the base in either direction (for scrubbing orsponge usage), which causes the sidewalls of the base to approach oneanother in either direction, the base of the inventive scrubbrush-sponge has a plurality of attenuated hinge regions provided alongthe edges of the base so as to minimize bending and twisting resistanceto the applied force. Alternatively or, preferably, in combination withthe hinge regions, the edges or corner of the base are recessed to evenfurther increase the flexibility of the base. In an additionalembodiment, both the edges of the base and the base floor itself may beprovided with cut-lines, or cut out portions, that act as slip plainsand allow sections of the base edge to move relative to one another orthat allow a floor of the base to shift relative to an adjacent the baseedge portion.

The outer side of the base has a plurality of bristles arranged innumerous rows. Bristles defining a group of rows, which are locatedsubstantially midway between opposite edges of the base, have a heightgradually decreasing towards the centerline of the base so that the freeends of the non-uniform bristles define a C-shaped or U-shaped trough.Obviously, the width of the trough may be selected so as to receive asegment of the annular body of the instrument to be scrubbed. Of course,such adaptation of the inventive scrub brush-sponge does not excludeother, more traditional functions of the brush including, for example,cleaning nails.

These and other features and aspects of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following description read in conduction withthe accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevational side view of one embodiment of the inventivescrub brush-sponge provided with a channel formed within a spongemember.

FIG. 2 is an elevational side view of another embodiment of inventivescrub brush-sponge and illustrates a recessed peripheral lip formed onthe scrub's base.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the inventive scrubbrush-sponge of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the inventive scrub brush-spongeconfigured in accordance with the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to several embodiments of theinvention that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whereverpossible, same or similar reference numerals are used in the drawingsand the description to refer to the same or like parts or steps. Thedrawings are in simplified form and are not to precise scale. Forpurposes of convenience and clarity only, directional terms, such astop, bottom, up, down, over, above, and below may be used with respectto the drawings. These and similar directional terms should not beconstrued to limit the scope of the invention in any manner. The words“connect,” “couple,” and similar terms with their inflectional morphemesdo not necessarily denote direct and immediate connections, but alsoinclude connections through mediate elements or devices.

FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 illustrate a scrub brush-sponge 10, which is configuredto provide a treatment of an annular body of a medical instrument thatcan be used more than once during the same medical procedure including,but not limited to, colonoscopy. As shown in FIG. 4, scrub brush-sponge10 includes a base 12 and a sponge 14 typically bonded to base 12.Coupling between the base and sponge may be realized in a variety ofways subject only to reliable contact between these components duringthe use of scrub brush-sponge 10. As a rule, a scrub brush-sponge is adisposable item and, in addition to cleaning of instruments, can performstandard operations such as cleaning the hands and nails of theprofessional, wetting and disinfecting the wounds of the patients andothers.

As every other medical item, scrub brush-sponge 10 has to effectivelyoperate for the intended purposes and be ergonomic so as to provide theprofessional with maximum possible convenience. Both criteria arereadily met by the inventive brush-sponge due to a few inventivefeatures that can be implemented separately or, preferably, incombination with one another.

To enhance cleaning of the instrument's body that may have an annular orpolygonal cross-section, it is necessary that the opposing surfaces ofsponge 14 and the instrument have as large a contact area as possible.Substantially surrounding the instrument by sponge 14 allows theprofessional to sterilize the instrument's surface in a time-effectivemanner as well as to have a reliable grip by pressing the sponge againstthe instrument. Providing sponge 14 with a channel 30 (FIGS. 1, 3 and4), which is configured to receive the instrument's body, attains thisobjective.

In use, the professional places the instrument within channel 30 byspreading sidewalls 18 of sponge's body 16 (FIG. 4) apart and eventuallylands the instrument within an arcuate region 24 of channel 30. Arcuateregion 24 may be variously dimensioned to accommodate differently sizedand shaped instruments, but, ideally, this region is large enough tohave an inner surface 25 (FIG. 4) of sponge 14 extend complementary to asubstantial peripheral segment of the instrument.

Thereafter, the professional applies an insignificant compression forceF (FIG. 4) to the opposite sides of base 12 so as to bring free ends ofsidewalls 18 of sponge 14 closer to one another. As a consequence, a gapbetween outer free end regions of sidewalls 18 above the insertedinstrument is minimized and may be closed, which allows inner surface 25of sponge 12 to substantially surround the instrument. Displacement ofscrub brush-sponge 10 and the instrument to be sterilized relative toone another completes the treatment of the instrument in a timeeffective and efficient manner. Obviously, this positioning process maybe reversed, and the instrument may be placed within trough 54 and thebase curved to increase scrubbing contact.

Free end regions of sidewalls 18 each have a respective rectilinearregion 22 (FIG. 4) of channel 30, which is configured with a pair ofinner sub-region 28 and outer sub-region 26 (FIGS. 1, 3 and 4). Whileinner sub-regions 28 of opposing rectilinear regions 22 lie insubstantially parallel planes, outer sub-regions 26 diverge outwardsfrom one another when the professional does not apply compression forceF to base 12. If the instrument to be sterilized has dimensionscomparable to or larger than the dimensions of arcuate or annular region24 of channel 30, the professional may apply an additional compressionforce sufficient to bring inner end sub regions 28 together andcompletely surround the instrument within channel 30. Preferably, outersub regions 26 do not abut one another in response to applyingcompression force F and, as a result, form a V-shaped path guidingsqueezed fluid away from the hands of the professional rather thanallowing it to flow over the hands.

The sponge 14 is made from polymeric material, such as polyurethane foamand, as mentioned before, can be adapted for various medical proceduresin addition to cleaning medical instruments. Depending on the PPI, thesponge can be successfully adapted, among others, in orthopedicoperations, procedures performed by podiatrists and oculists. Clearly,each of these medical procedures requires that sponge 14 have arelatively smooth or rough outer surface. For example, obese peoplepreferably use a smooth sponge for cleaning and disinfecting body partsthat are covered by folds of fat. To provide such a smooth surface,sponge 14 may have its body 16 (FIG. 4) formed with a higherconcentration of pores 32 (FIG. 1), whose PPI may vary from about 70 toabout 200, resulting in a smoother surface texture and greater SVDforming capacity.

In contrast, cleaning the instruments may be more efficient if sponge 14would have a relatively abrasive outer surface. For this purposes, body16 of sponge 14 may have a very low PPI ranging between about 10 andabout 15. It should be obvious to those skilled in the art thatdecreasing pore count increases relative pore volume.

Sponge 14 has a rather flat bottom 20 (FIG. 4), which is coupled to aninner side 36 (FIG. 4) of the bottom of base 12. To position sponge 14in a desirable, centered position on base 12, the latter has a body madefrom of relatively firm but flexible polymeric material, such aspolyethylene, and a peripheral lip which defines the bottom of base 12and extends therefrom to peripherally abut the bottom portion of sponge14. The lip includes two relatively long lip segments 38 bridged byrelatively short lip segments 40 (FIG. 4). Since compression force F istypically, but not always, applied to long sides of base 12, long lipsegments 38 have a greater height than short lip segments 40 and,therefore, engage a greater area of the bottom portion of sponge 14 toensure that the latter does not voluntarily move out of engagement withbase 12. The inner surface of lip segments 38,40 has a ledge 50 (FIG. 1and 4) extending inwards from these segments and configured to pressagainst the opposing surface of sponge 14, as better illustrated inFIG. 1. An adhesive joins sponge 14 with base 12, as shown.

Bending base 12 may not be an easy task without the improvementsprovided by the present invention. During use, the flexibility of base12 is critical to proper functioning of sponge 14. To help theprofessional easily bend base 12, at least some of, but preferably allfour, lip segments 38, 40 have attenuated hinge regions 42 (FIGS. 1, 2and 4). When the professional applies compression force F, hinge regions42 easily collapse providing minimal (substantially reduced) resistanceto the applied force. Not only the area occupied by each hinge region isthinner than the rest of a respective lip, but also this area isarcuately indented either outwards or inwards, as illustrated in FIG. 4.Due to the convexity or concavity of the hinge regions, brush-sponge 10can be repeatedly squeezed without damaging regions 42.

To further improve the flexibility of base 12, lip segments 38, 40 canalso have a plurality of cut lines 56 (FIG. 2) defining, thus, aplurality of lip sub segments that can move relative to each other alongcut-line slip plains. Cut lines 56 may terminate before reaching thebottom of the lip segments, as illustrated in FIG. 2. Alternatively, cutlines 56 may extend into the bottom of base 12 to aid increasedtorsional and arcuate curvature during use to aid scrubbing andsterilization.

To prevent accumulation of fluid squeezed out of sponge 14 and tofurther improve flexibility of base 12, its bottom is provided with anarrangement of elongated slots and holes 44, 46, respectively, (FIG. 4).The entire base can be molded in one piece with the aid of mold-cavityinserts for a first-shot and a second-shot injection as is well knownper se. To reinforce base 12, its bottom may have additional reinforcingframe 48 (FIG. 4) including multiple spaced strips, which extend betweenrelatively long lip segments 38 of the base.

An outer side 34 (FIGS. 1 and 3) of the base's bottom is molded with aplurality of rows of bristles 52 preferably made of the same material asbase 12. Primarily, the bristles are used for cleaning the fingernailsof the professional. In addition, the bristles may be used as ascrubbing surface for cleaning the instruments. Similarly to channel 30formed in sponge 14, bristles 52 may be arranged so as to define acentral trough 54 (FIGS. 1, 3 and 4) configured to receive a substantialportion the peripheral surface of the instrument. To form trough 54,bristles 52 arranged in central rows have their height graduallyreducing towards the centerline of outer surface 34, whereas rows ofbristles 52 located along opposite sides of outer surface 34 haveuniformly dimensioned bristles. Accordingly, trough 54 may have agenerally C-shaped or U-shaped cross-section.

Bristles 52 may be formed with uniform stiffness. Alternatively, thebristles forming outer rows may be made from relatively soft materials,making them ideal for the cleaning of fingernails or promoting thefoaming of fluid, such as soap solution, which is contained in sponge14. At the same time, the flexibility of bristles defining central rowsmay be lower so as to enhance the scrubbing effect.

In a first alternative example, while the sponge illustrated in FIGS. 1,3 and 4 has a generally C-shaped or U-shaped cross-section, it mayeasily have a generally rectilinear or rectangular shape, as shown inFIG. 2. Furthermore, while the enhanced flexibility of the inventivescrub brush-sponge has been mainly explained as a result of applyingcompression forces for scrubbing surgical instruments, this flexibilitycan be equally useful in treating body portions that are difficult toaccess to difficult to clean. For instance, feet in general, and toes inparticular, fingers, and the face are difficult to clean, particularlyin the morbidly obese or in the violently injured to remove debris. Inthis regard, any bending or twisting force, not only the compressionforce, can be applied to the base so as to have the inventive scrubbrush-sponge assume the desirable shape and clean properly.

In an alternative embodiment, the present invention may also be packagedas a surgical kit, combining the brush/sponge unit itself, but also aselected component in a sealed package. The sealed kit providing aready-to-use cleansing and sterilization assembly. In one aspect of thistype of alternative embodiment, the kit may include an antibiotic orfungicidal foaming fluid for surgical use or cleansing of surgicalinstruments. In another aspect of this alternative embodiment, the kitmay include a grease cutting fluid for cleansing delicate mechanicalparts in an industrial process. The benefits of providing a sealedready-to-use kit are many. For example, a surgeon or other professionalmay tear open a sterilized ready-to-use scrub brush kit pre-loaded withcleansing fluid to clean and sterilize a surgical tool. In anotherexample, a manufacturer may employ a pre-loaded brush kit to removecutting oil from a complex mechanical shape.

In sum, although only a single or few exemplary embodiments of thisinvention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the artwill readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in theexemplary embodiment(s) without materially departing from the novelteachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all suchmodifications are intended to be included within the spirit and scope ofthis invention as defined in the following claims.

1. A scrub brush-sponge for treating a medical instrument, comprising: abase: a sponge coupled to the base and provided with an inner surface,the inner surface defining a channel open away from the base andconfigured to receive a body of the medical instrument so that the innersurface of the sponge extends complementary to and is juxtaposed with aperipheral portion of the body of the medical instrument; the channelhas an inner substantially annular region and two outer substantiallyrectilinear regions opposing one another so that when no external forceis applied to the sponge, the opposing rectilinear regions are spacedapart, and when the external force is applied to the sponge, theopposing rectilinear regions are displaceable towards one another so asto increase a contact area between the body of the medical instrumentand the inner surface of the sponge; the two opposing rectilinearregions of the inner surface of the sponge each have a respective pairof inner and outer sub-regions configured so that when the externalcompression force is not applied, the inner and outer sub-regions ofeach pair extend away from one another; and the inner sub-regions of thetwo opposing rectilinear regions of the inner surface of the spongeextend in substantially parallel planes, whereas the outer sub-regionsextend in planes diverging outwardly from one another.
 2. The scrubbrush-sponge of claim 1, wherein: the sponge has a bottom bonded to thebase and two spaced apart side walls bridged by the bottom and extendingoutwardly therefrom so that, when no external force is applied to thebase, the sponge has a substantially U-shaped or C-shaped cross-section,and when the external force is applied, the sponge tends to assume asubstantially annular shape and to enclose the body of the medicalinstrument.
 3. The scrub brush-sponge of claim 1, wherein: the base hasa respective bottom receiving the sponge and provided with at least oneperipheral lip region, the at least one peripheral lip region extendingupwards from the support surface and centering the sponge on the base.4. The scrub brush-sponge of claim 3, wherein: the peripheral lip has aplurality of hinge regions spaced from one another and each configuredto increase flexibility of the base upon applying an external force tothe base.
 5. The scrub brush-sponge of claim 4, wherein: the pluralityof hinge regions each are at least one of a concavely or convexlyconfigured shape for facilitating thereby flexing of the base inresponse to applying the external force.
 6. The scrub brush-sponge ofclaim 4, wherein: the plurality of hinge regions each have a respectivethickness smaller than a thickness of adjacent portions of theperipheral lip.
 7. The scrub brush-sponge of claim 3, wherein: theperipheral lip has a plurality of cut lines shaped and dimensioned toincrease flexibility of the base upon applying an external force.
 8. Thescrub brush-sponge of claim 7, wherein: the plurality of cut lines eachextend into the bottom of the base.
 9. The scrub brush-sponge of claim3, wherein: the bottom of the base has a plurality of elongated slotsopening into opposite inner and outer sides of the bottom, the slotsbeing shaped and dimensioned to increase flexibility of the base uponapplying an external force to the base.
 10. The scrub brush-sponge ofclaim 9, wherein: the outer side of the bottom of the base has aplurality of bristles inserted in rows of different height so that theouter side of the bottom of the base has a generally C-shaped orU-shaped trough spaced substantially uniformly from opposite edges ofthe bottom and dimensioned to receive an item for scrubbing.
 11. Thescrub brush-sponge of claim 3, wherein: the peripheral lip of the baseis endless and has an inner surface coextending with and pressing upon abottom of the sponge so as to retain the sponge centered on the base asthe base is being flexed upon applying and releasing an external forceto the base.
 12. The scrub brush-sponge of claim 1, wherein: the spongeis made of foam having a PPI ranging between about 10 to about 200.